Following stable growth in the pig industry over the last year, the number of pigs in Ukrainian farms is projected to rise slightly by 2.2% in 2013 as local farmers begin to realise the potential of high production and export in this sector.

According to official statistics by the State Static Service of Ukraine (Gosstat) at the beginning of 2013 there are in total about 7.52 million pigs, which is by 142,600 more than in 2012. Last year the growth of the industry was largely due to the development of commercial farms, but this year the government is also intending to stimulate pig farming development in private households.

"Domestic pig farming is an industry with high production and export potential. So currently, increasing the number of pigs is an important issue. Last year, we managed to do that. And this year, we expect that the number of pigs in all categories of farms will also rise to 7.68 million heads," said Mykola Prysiazhniuk, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food.

"In particular, it is projected that the number of pigs at commercial farms will rise 2.4% to 3.63 million. In private households by the end of this year this figure should amount to 4.05 million pigs, up 2% on-year volume," added the Ministry of Agriculture.